Curious George Exhibit at Contemporary Jewish Museum

Both my kids are fan of Curious George (and me too!). His curiousness resembles so close to that of little kids! Recently I heard a quote on KLOK 1170, "A mistake is just another way of doing something...". It goes so well with Curious George and kids. We always want our kids to do things in a certain way forgetting that they have a brain which is not polluted by the constraints. They can have ideas and thoughts that we might rule out as incorrect or mistake. So much for the philosophy...

I had read about the limited time Margaret and H.A.Rey's drawing exhibits in the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. In order to get most out of our visit we chose sunday when they had preschool gallery and drop-in-art-making. To cover the museum appropriately, we did a divide and conquer strategy, I took the little one for preschool and story telling activities, meanwhile N took the older one around the museum to see the Jewish exhibits.



My little one first enjoyed the story telling time listening to 4-5 stories.


Then we visited the curious George exhibit, as no pictures were allowed I don't have any to post here. However we did take pictures with the mascot. Below is "I" at the entrance to the exhibit:

The exhibit was very informative, I read aloud the words on each of the displays to my little one as we passed by each of the them and tried to name the Curious George book in which it appeared.

Finally in the drop-in-art-making the kids spent 30-45 minutes making light puppets. I would surely want to visit the museum again to see the other exhibits that I did not cover.

A Night at Children's Natural History Museum

An evening event with "fossil" theme was organized by the Math Science Nucleus at the Children's Natural History Museum in Fremont today. Being a weekday with kids homework and tests, I was not sure if we should attend it. It had been my wish for a while to take my kids to this museum. So 30 minutes prior to the event start which was @ 7:00 p.m. I and A finally decided to go.

We reached there when the "The boy paleontologists" Phil Gordon and William Charles were narrating about their childhood associations with fossils and paleontology. Most of the exhibits including the astounding collection of Ice age fossils found in the Irvington district (aka Irvingtonian fossil), in the museum now, were possible due to the work of Wesley Gordan, Sr. They showed a fossil of mammoth foot part, it took Wes Gordon almost 412 hours to remove the rock deposit from that fossil!


The kids then got to do few activities like sorting out the current day animals from those during the dinosaur period and sorting similar fossils.

















We then set off to explore the museum and were very overwhelmed with the rock collections, the fossil collections, hall of star and nature collection. They also have activities in the museum for kids, like sorting minerals, sorting gems, find matching object. It would probably take 2-3 hours to cover all the exhibits and do the activities. We did not get to complete the fossil collection as it was time to leave. However we soon do expect to go back to this museum. It is a must visit especially for the awesome mineral and rock collection!







Their other nature collection:

Open Space weekend

As the name suggests Open Space is an open space land preserved to provide people with nature enjoyment. It is made of 26 different land preserves spanning from Half Moon Bay to Morgan Hill/San Martin. Over the weekend we visited 2 of the open spaces: Rancho San Antonio and Skyline Ridge. We were glad we did as we got to add 2 more locations to our list of trails for kids.

Both these preserves have trails ranging from easy(with kids) to strenous, they have Nature Centers, where kids can enjoy some nature related activities.

Rancho San Antonio: This one is accessible from Mountain View and to our surprise was completely crowded on Saturday.It has many shaded and leveled trails for kids to enjoy. There is also a small creek (was almost dry) where kids can enjoy when it has some water.

About 1 mile walk from the parking lot is the Deer Hollow Farm Nature center which has farm animals. Its open until 4:00 p.m. during fall. Unfortunately it was closed when we reached there, however we could see some goats and sheep from outside the enclosed area.




Skyline Ridge: It is quiet a drive on Page Mill road from Palo alto, however very refreshing. You can overlook the bay from the hills and the view is breath taking.


















The David C. Daniel's nature center within 5 minutes walk from the parking lot. There is a collection of natural artifacts and hands-on activities for kids. They can easily spend 45min-1 hr at this center.

















The nature center is located on edge of Alpine pond, which is a great place to see some flora and fauna.









We were short of time and did not get to explore the trails around. There are short trails around the pond which are suitable for small kids.We even spotted a road runner and some jack rabbits near the ponds. They were too quick for a snap.

The incredible, edible acorn

Yes! Acorns are edible, not just for animals but for humans as well! To learn more about it we joined the ranger's of Vasona county park.

We all know that the acorn is a seed of Oak tree and near these trees we see squirrels scampering about and collecting these nuts. There are other animals like deer and birds that eat this seed. We learnt that an acorn woodpecker loves to eat acorns and drills holes in to dead tree trunks to stick the acorns in it. When the insects find their way in to these acorns, he devours the insects and acorns. A blue jay or scrub jay bird is an acorn planter and we were amazed to know that it plants about 7000 acorns in to the ground in an year.

The Ohlone Indians were the main consumer's of this nut and knew how to process them. During summer they use to collect these nuts and store in their granary to dry it up. In winter when they were out of other protein foods that they had stored, they would live on these nuts.

To consume these nuts, you have to dry them and then crack them open. Inside is a seed that looks like a big peanut. It is crushed and the husk is removed. It is then ground to a powder, the Indian had a huge stone called bed rock on which they would grind these nuts. we can do it with a mortar and pestel or a sturdy grinder. The seeds have a bitter taste due to the tannin acid in them. It needs to be removed before we humans can consume it. The process to remove the tannin acid is called leaching, where the acorn meal is tied in a cloth and water is run over it.
The ranger had done all the above steps to make the acorn meal (he used the acorns from Valley oak tree) and used it to make pancakes. Lastly we got to enjoy the pancakes with wild mint jelly! mmmm!
Acorn being a seed has all the nuritional values like protein, fiber and minerals. Wonder why this seed is not as much consumed by humans? Maybe we want to spare some food for the wild life!

Kids and Chrysalises at Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center

After some break in our activities for about 2-3 weeks, this weekend we were eager to go out for some program. We decided to visit the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center in Hayward. They host weekend science programs for kids and adults. This Sunday they had the program Kids and Chyrsalises which was for all age groups.

While waiting for the class to start we explored the exhibits: the fish tanks, the western fence lizard, a microscope, salt block and other kids activities.



The instructor started with showing us Chrysalises of the Anise Swallowtail butterfly, one was still intact while the other was a remain of a caterpillar which had already transformed to butterfly.

We came to know that the Chrysalis is formed from the skin of the caterpillar. The caterpillar sheds its skin as it grows and the last time that it does so, underneath is the chrysalis.The Anise Swallowtail can be in the chrysalis form for various periods, depending on the weather and part of the world. Usually in the cold regions like Canada, it will hibernate throughout the fall and winter and only come out in Spring. In warmer regions it can come out in 2 - 4 weeks.



The butterfly stage is also small for these creatures and they live for 3 - 6 weeks when they lay eggs on fennel plant. The butterfly is called as Anise Swallowtail as the caterpillar grows and eats fennel plants and the butterfly has tail which looks like a Swallows wings when it is in flight.

A fennel plant outside the Hayward shoreline Interpretive Center exhibited the caterpillars at various stages. The just hatched ones are like tiny black dots, as they grow their appearance changes. These have 6 legs( as butterflies are insects) and many pro-legs that help the caterpillar to stick on to things(shown in the picture above). When upset the caterpillar protrudes its horn which emits bad smell that keeps the predators away.

Back in the classroom the kids made a craft butterfly to carry home.

Overfelt Garden

This Sunday we wanted to go to a nearby park. While looking up on internet for a San Jose Regional Parks, I came across Overfelt Gardens in San Jose. I generally look for a park which is near a creek or has a pond, so the kids can see the water fowls and from the description that I read, Overfelt Garden was perfect!

The garden has paved trails and 3 percolation ponds or underwater refill ponds. These ponds are fed by water from the creek. The water seeps through the mud and rocks underneath which act as an acquifer to purify the water. This underground clean water is then pumped to neigboring areas. The creek which feeds these ponds probably has water when there is rain. While we were there the creek was all dry and the ponds had receded. The percolations ponds serve as habitats to turtles (you can see a lot of them either on the shore or poking their heads out of the water), herons, egrets, pekin ducks, mallards and other ducks, canada goose, humming birds etc.



The park has a Chinese garden, wildlife sactuary and picnic area. The Chinese garden has pavilions where you can rest and enjoy the cool breeze and surroundings. There are statues of Confucius - ancient philisopher and Chiang Kai-shek - The first president of Republic of China. The trail is leveled and hence very easy. We spent around 1-1.5 hrs in the park hiking.

Bird Banding at SFBBO

SFBBO - San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory works on conservation of birds and restoration of the bird habitats. For tracking and studying the birds, their features, population and ensuring their wellness the volunteers of this organization catch the birds and band them(i.e put a ring having a serial number around their feet). Sometimes they catch an already banded bird in which case they examine the bird (like a check-up!) and make note of the birds statistics like molting, wing span etc.

The program that we attended was for families to see how the birds are caught, examined and banded. Since the area where the banding is done is a restricted conservation area, it is inaccessible for public. A special permit is issued to Audubon Society to do these programs couple times a year and that is how we could be part of this learning experience.



All the families met at McCarthy Ranch and we carpooled to the bird banding station at Coyote Creek (4-5 min drive). Various birds can be found here and you really need a binocular for this trip. We were taken for a walk about 20-35 minutes through the dense overgrowth to see the nets where birds are caught. There are about 50 nets and are operated only on certain days. The nets are very delicate and almost invisible to a flying bird. There is always someone walking past these nets to check if a bird is caught (Since the bird banding process is very intimidating for the birds, the volunteers want to keep it as short as possible). We were lucky to see an actual bird, song sparrow, caught in the net. It was removed from the net and put in to a cloth bag. On our walk we came across jack rabbits, a gray fox, and many birds like turkey vultures, kites, finches etc.

Back at the banding station, we watched 3 birds, a song sparrow, a common yellowthroat and a Bewick's wren which got caught in the nets. These were previously banded birds(on their legs), so the volunteer examined the birds, measured their weight and then let them go. The entire process took about 10-15 minutes for each bird. When the birds are caught they need to be held in a special way, so as to not hurt them as well as not to allow them to fly. Volunteers are trained in this technique.

The volunteer then showed us the bird skin displays of birds like the barn owl, red tail hawk, kingfisher, starling, blackbirds, house sparrow, wrens... and told us some interesting facts about these birds. The entire process of bird banding was very interesting and novel experience for me and my daughter.

Trip to Yellowstone National Park, Day 2 - Utah and Teton National Park

We took the rental car from Salt Lake City Airport, Utah to Wyoming. As we drove from Utah, we got to see the jagged and rugged mountains of Utah, which look really "scary". Along the route we could see farms and ranches.We took the scenic by-ways through the Wasatch National Park and the Cache National Park before reaching the Teton NP. The mountains were clad with evergreen trees and we could see only greenery wherever our eyes set.



During this drive we spotted a fox, magpie birds, deer and plenty of field mice on the road. The road was pretty empty and we could take halts to click pictures.



As we got closer to Jackson Hole which is a town on the south of Grand Teton NP, the traffic increased. The drive along the snake river is marvellous with plain green fields and valleys surrounded by green mountains. Some of the mountain peaks were still covered with snow.Finally we reached the Teton NP and were amazed at the sight of Teton range. This range is called as teenage mountains as they are still rising or "growing" due to activity of the tectonic
lates beneath.



The visitor's center in the Teton NP has great exhibits that interest the kids. The rangers in the visitor's center gave us information as to which hikes would be best with kids. We first drove along the Gros Ventre river, a tributary of the snake river. There we spotted lots of Bison's, some crossing the road and momentarily halting the ongoing traffic.



Our next stop was the Jenny Lake, here we took a motor boat ride to the other end of the Lake. We hiked half way to the hidden falls, and came across the lower end of the falls. The force of the water that gushes here is breathtaking! There is a bridge from which you can witness this gushing underneath.



Next we went to the Jackson Dam/Lake where we were hoping to see the Trumpeter Swan. However we did not find any! We had to content ourselves by looking at the Pelican. After a very busy day finally we checked in to Colter Bay Log cabin. The overnight cabin stay was a good experience for the kids.